Automatic cigarette weighing balance for cigarette making machines



July 10, 1956 2,753,871

K. KGRBE AUTOMATIC CIGARETTE WEIGHINU BALANCE FOR CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Filed March 24, 1954 F/g. z

United States Patent AUTOMATIC CIGARETTE WEIGHING BALANCE FOR CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Kurt Kiirber, Hamburg Bergedorf, Germany,.assignor t0 Kurt Kiirber & Co. K.-G., Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany Application March 24, 1954, Serial No. 418,427 Claims priority, appiication' Germany April 4, 1953- 7 Claims. (CL 131-22) The invention relates to a device on an automatic step in accordance with the position of the indicating hand of the balance whereby the amount of the adjustment of the tobacco feed is determined. according to the special distance of the ratchet wheels away from a central position of the indicator hand of the balance. Each ratchet wheel, when actuated a predetermined number of steps, actuates an adjusting element consisting preferably of an electric switch which performs an automatic adjustment of the speed of a variable speed motor which drives the tobacco feed mechanism of the cigarette making machines.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means whereby the automatic adjustment of the tobacco feed does not take place immediately after the weight of a single cigarette deviates from the desired weight, but only after the deviations of the individual weights from the desired weight have reached a predetermined total value which causes the ratchet Wheels to be actuated a number of times so that the latter then perform an automatic adjustment of the automatic tobacco feed.

In view of this accumulation of a plurality of weight deviations before a speed adjustment takes place, there is obtained a great stability in the automatic adjustment of the tobacco feed in cigarette making machinery, and there is obtained not only a very uniform weight of the individual cigarettes but at the same time the mechanical device in the tobacco feed mechanism, in the tobacco distribution and in the automatic control device are not subjected to heavy strains and will, therefore, show very little wear after long use.

The drawing illustrates by way of example one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically a cigarette weighing balance arranged on the discharge end of a cigarette rod making machine viewed from the front.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the balance.

Fig. 3 is an elevation view of the adjusting device with the cover of the casing removed, and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A of Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 1, the device E, forming the principal feature of the invention, is arranged within the balance housing W of a weighing mechanism 60 for weighing individual cigarettes similar to that shown in U. S. Patent 2,601,786 issued to Cyril Best, July 1, 1952. The individual cigarettes are cut from the rod as shown in Figure 1 and fed to a support or pan similar to that shown at 14 in the Best patent. This device E is arranged in the rear of the movable indicator hand Z and will be de scribed presently in more detail.

The indicator hand Z is rotatable about an axis Z1 and also is tiltable in a direction at right angles to the device E about an axis Z2 which is positioned at right angles to the axis Z1. The indicator hand Z has attached thereto a pin S which projects into the device E. A frame B which is pivotally aligned about the axes B1 and B2 is arranged in front of the indicator hand Z, and is adapted to be engaged by the aligned cams A1 and A2 which are driven by a gearing G which, in turn, is operated by the cigarette making machine, which latter, however, does not form a part of the present invention. The cams A1 and A2 rotate slowly in the direction of the arrow P shown in Fig. 2 and engage the frame B in order to urge the same against the indicator hand Z to tilt the latter into the position indicated in dotted lines Z in Fig. 2 so that the pin S is moved into the device E.

The device E consists of a casing 1 having mounted therein a shaft 2 supporting, by way of example, four ratchet wheels 3, 4, 5 and 6, two on each side of the central position of indicator hand Z, as seen in Figure 3. In front of each of these ratchet wheels is arranged a lever 7, S, 9 and 10, each under the influence of a tension spring 7a. Between the levers 8 and 9 is arranged a fifth lever 11 (Fig. 3), likewise under the action of a tension spring 7a. The indicator hand Z of the balance W moves in front of these levers and, as shown, the pin S on the indicator hand Z projects through a slot into the casing. When the indicator hand Z is engaged by the frame B and is tilted in the direction Z (Fig. 4), then the pin S, according to the lateral deflection of the indicator hand Z, will be urged against one of the levers 7, 8, 9, or 11. The levers 7, 8, 9 and 10 have each pivoted thereto an operating pawl 14, 15, 16 and 17, and also have pivotally attached thereto a link 18, 19, 20 and 21, provided each with a slot. Each of the slots slidably receives a pin 22, 23, 24 and 25, which are mounted on ratchet pawls 26, 27, 28 and 29, pivotally supported at one of their ends in the casing 1. The ratchet pawls have leaf springs 31 attached thereto which engage the levers 7, 8, 9 and 18 so that they are always maintained in the position illustrated in Fig. 4.

Additional ratchet pawls 34, 35, 36 and 37 are arranged on opposite sides of the ratchet wheels 3, 4, 5 and 6 and are pivotally supported in the casing 1 and are urged by tension springs 38a in engagement with their respective ratchet wheels. A release bar 38 of "sufficient width is mounted slidably in the casing 1 above the operating pawls 14, 15, 16 and 17 and is adapted to be actuated by the levers 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 or by the holding pawls 34, 35, 36 and 37. Each ratchet wheel carries a lateral pin 39, 40, 41 and 42 which during the forward rotation of the individual ratchet wheels actuate stationary electrical switches, for instance, the spring contacts 43, 44, 45 and 46, which by means of electrical conductors are connected with the variable speed motor which drives the tobacco feed mechanism 70 of the cigarette rod making machine. The tobacco feed mechanism 70 is of the same general type shown in U. S. Patent 1,864,728 issued to Wilford J. Hawkins, June 28, 1932. The ratchet wheels are provided each with an additional lateral projection 47, 48, 49 and 50 which by a spring are pulled against a stationary projection 51, 52, 53 and 54 in the casing 1. The operating pawls 14, 15, 16 and 17 are adapted to engage with their front ends the stops 55, 56, 57 and 58, which limit the advance of the ratchet wheels to one tooth length at one time. All operating pawls rest freely upon the transverse rod 59.

Referring to Fig. 3, it is assumed that the part of the device on the left hand side from the center position of the indicator hand Z indicates an excess weight (-1-) of the individual cigarettes, while the part of the device on the right hand side of the center position of the indicator hand Z indicates an underweight of the individual cigarettes.

The operation is as follows:

When the weight of the cigarette is too low, the indicator hand Z will swing toward the right (Fig. 3) and selectively may come to rest in front of the lever 7. The frame B will tilt the indicator hand Z so that the pin S will engage the lever 7 and actuate the same so that the operating pawl 14 on the lever 7 rotates the ratchet wheel 3 one step away from its starting position. The lever 7 also moves at the same time the release bar 38 which, in turn, lifts all holding pawls 34, 35, 36 and 37 out of engagement with their respective ratchet wheels 3, 4, and 6. The non-actuated ratchet wheels 4, 5 and 6, which may not as yet have returned to their initial positions after having been actuated by preceding weighing operations, are now returned to their initial or starting pos1t1ons by a spring (at! associated with each ratchet wheel, with the exception of the ratchet wheel 3 which just was actuated by the lever 7. The ratchet wheel 3 will be locked against return movement by its associated ratchet pawl 26, but as soon as the lever 7 returns to its starting position the holding pawl 34 will lock the ratchet wheel 3 while the pawl 26 returns to its starting position with the lever 7.

If the same deviation from the desired weight continues for a number of cigarette weighing operations, the above described actuation of the lever 7 is repeated and the same ratchet wheel is rotated clockwise one more step at each weighing operation until the pin 39 engages the spring contact 43, so that an electrical impulse is transmitted to the variable speed motor of the tobacco feed mechanism 70 so that the latter will be adjusted somewhat to increase the feed of tobacco.

In case the indicator hand Z, after the mentioned adjustment of the motor, should now return to its center position, then the frame B, during the next weighing operation, causes the pin S on the indicator hand Z to actuate the lever 11 which, by means of the release bar 38, causes a disengagement of all holding pawls 34, 35, 36 and 37 from the ratchet wheels 3, 4, 5 and 6. Therefore, ratchet wheel 3, when released, returns to its initial position under the action of the spring 60 and, of course, the spring contact 43 is opened.

Should the indicator hand Z, however, move beyond its center position toward the left, when the next weighing operation is performed, and comes to rest in front of the lever 9, then the ratchet wheel 5 associated with the lever 9 would be actuated, While all the other ratchets would be released and permitted to return to their initial positions.

When one of the spring contacts 43, 44, 45 or 46 has been closed by the pins 39, 4-0, 41 or 42, respectively, it would be possible to return the respective ratchet wheel to its starting position by means of a pin 65, which is attached to the control contact and engages the respective holding pawl 34, 35, 36 or 37.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a variable tobacco feed mechanism of a cigarette making machine, an automatic cigarette weighing balance provided with an indicating hand adapted to move toward both sides from a central position which indicates a predetermined desired weight, a device mounted adjacent said indicating hand and extending to both sides of the central position thereof and including a plurality of rotatable step by step means operable each by said indicating hand upon movement of the latter away from its central position and in response to a weighing operation, and control means for varying the speed of the variable tobacco feed mechanism operatively connected with said means and adapted to be operated by the latter after said means has been operated by said indicating hand more than once, there being at least two of said step by step means selectively operable by said indicator hand on each side of its central position.

2. In combination with a variable tobacco feed mechanism of a cigarette making machine, an automatic cigarette weighing balance provided with an indicating hand adapted to move toward both sides from a central position which indicates a predetermined desired weight, means operable in relation to said cigarette making machine for permitting tilting of said indicating hand in a direction at right angles to its weight responsive movement, a device mounted in the rear of said indicating hand and extending laterally to both sides of the central position thereof, said device including a plurality of rotatable ratchet means operable each selectively by said indicating hand when the latter is tilted in a direction at right angles to said weight responsive movement of said indicating hand, means for tilting said indicating hand and control means for varying the speed of the variable tobacco feed mechanism operatively connected with said rotatable ratchet means and adapted to be operated by the latter after said ratchet means has been operated by said indicating hand a plurality of times, there being provided at least two rotatable ratchet means arranged on opposite sides of said center position of said indicating hand.

3. In combination with a variable tobacco feed mechanism of a cigarette making machine, an automatic cigarette weighing balance provided with an indicating hand adapted to move toward both sides from a central position which indicates a predetermined desired weight, means controlled by said cigarette making inachine for tilting said indicating hand and extending laterally to both sides of responsive movement, a device mounted in the rear of said indicating chand and extending laterally to both sides of the central position thereof, said device including a plurality of rotatable ratchet means operable each by said indicating hand when the latter is tilted in a direction at right angles to said weight responsive movement of said indicating hand, said tilting means operating each time a cigarette is placed on said scale and weighed, control means for varying the speed of the variable tobacco feed mechanism operatively connected with said rotatable ratchet means and adapted to be operated by the latter after said rotatable ratchet means has been selectively operated by said indicating hand a plurality of times and means operated by said indicating hand when tilted in said central position to cause all said rotatable ratchet means to return to their initial starting position.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 2, in which said plurality of rotatable ratchet means comprise a plurality of axially spaced ratchet wheels, and a pivotally mounted lever associated with each of said ratchet means and carrying a pawl for stepwise rotating the ratchet wheel when said lever is actuated by a tilting movement of said indicating hand, said control means including an electric switch, one for each ratchet wheel and operated by the latter after the ratchet wheel has been selectively rotated a plurality of steps in the same direction.

- 5. The combination as claimed in claim 2, in which said plurality of rotatable ratchet means comprise a plurality of axially spaced ratchet wheels, a pivotally mounted lever associated with each of said ratchet means and carrying a pawl for stepwise rotating the ratchet wheel when said lever is selectively actuated by a tilting movement of said indicating hand, said control means including an electric switch, one for each ratchet wheel and operated by the latter after the ratchet wheel has been rotated a plurality of steps in the same direction, a plurality of holding pawls, one for each ratchet Wheel, and a release bar actuated by said indicating hand when tilted for releasing all ratchet wheels except the one which is rotated by its associated lever which is actuated by the tilted indicating hand.

6. The combination as claimed in claim 2, in which said plurality of rotatable ratchet means comprise a plurality of axially spaced ratchet wheels, a pivotally mounted lever associated with each of said ratchet means and carrying a pawl for stepwise rotatin the ratchet wheel when said lever is selectively actuated by a tilting movement of said indicating hand, said control means including an electric switch, one for each ratchet wheel and operated by the latter after the ratchet Wheel has been rotated a plurality of steps in the same direction, a plurality of holding pawls, one for each of said ratchet Wheels, spring means for urging said holding pawls in engagement with said ratchet Wheels, other spring means tending to return said ratchet wheels to their initial starting position, a release bar common to all holding pawls actuated by said indicating hand when tilted for releasing all holding pawls, and a spring urged pawl on each of said pivoted levers for engaging the associated ratchet wheel when the respective pivoted lever is selectively actuated by the tilted indicating hand to prevent return movement of the associated ratchet wheel when all said holding pawls are released.

7. The combination as claimed in claim 2, in which said plurality of rotatable ratchet means comprise a plurality of axially spaced ratchet wheels, a pivotally mounted lever associated with each of said ratchet means and carrying a pawl for stepwise rotating the ratchet wheel when said lever is selectively actuated by a tilting movement of said indicating hand, said control means including an electric switch, one for each ratchet wheel and operated by the latter after the ratchet wheel has been rotated a plurality of steps in the same direction, a plurality of holding pawls, one for each of said ratchet Wheels, spring means for urging said holding pawls in engagement with said ratchet wheels, other spring means tending to return said ratchet wheels to their initial starting position, a release bar common to all holding pawls actuated by said indicating hand when tilted for releasing all holding pawls, a spring urged pawl on each of said pivoted levers for engaging the associated ratchet wheel when the respective pivoted lever is selectively actuated by the tilted indicating hand to prevent return movement of the associated ratchet wheel when all said holding pawls are released, and lever means operated by said indicating hand when the latter is tilted in said central position to operate said release bar to cause a release of all said holding pawls and a return of all ratchet Wheels to their initial starting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,083,173 Ruau June 8, 1937 2,343,240 Molins Mar. 7, 1944 2,601,786 Best July 1, 1952 

